ANSWERS: 5
  • coughing blood...TB
  • TB- night sweats,rapid weight loss. Either way, SEE THE DOCTOR!
  • Whichever one takes you out first is the worst when your cursed and ready to burst
  • Pneumonia is fluid in lungs... sometimes you can hear it at home
  • First off, take a good history. 80% of diagnoses are made on histories alone. Foreign travel/lived/worked in areas with endemic TB? Susceptible population? As mentioned by uncacal, night sweats, as is you have to change the sheets because they are that soaked is a good indicator of TB over pneumonia. WonderWomen2009 is right that coughing blood is a "classical" sign of TB, but as so often in medicine, classical signs aren't present. Plus, they could cough blood for other reasons as well, so don't go on this alone. Are there any non-respiratory signs? Erythema nodosum on the lower legs (red patches that are painful),strongly indicates TB over pneumonia, though you need to exclude sarcoidosis if it's a respiratory problem. Have you got any imaging? Cavitation, calcification and fibreosis on an X-ray are all good evidence for TB over pneumonia. I'm guessing you don't have any histology, otherwise it would probably be ptretty conclusive if you see non-caseating granuloma.

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